Supermodel in line for MTV award

Model and entertainer Ho Ngoc Ha will represent Viet Nam at the MTV Europe Music Awards' Best World-Wide Act category.

Ha beat four strong contenders, a group comprising emerging and senior singers from Viet Nam's entertainment world.

Ha now must move onto new rounds of competition, including the Southeast Asian and Asian rounds, before she makes it to the final MTV awards.

Ha, a model-turned-entertainer, hit the spotlight when she won first prize in Viet Nam's 2003 and 2004 national super-model contest. Since then, she has worked as an actress and singer.

Last year, singer My Tam grabbed the Best Southeast Asia Act for Viet Nam.

Cartoon on corruption wins prize

Le Phuong's cartoon wins the top prize at a year-long newspaper-cartoon contest. The drawing, which poked fun at people's ignorance of corruption, was good enough to take home the VND30million (US$1,400) reward.

The competition, launched by the Media Education Centre (MEC) and HCM City's Phap Luat (Law) newspaper, came to a close on Monday in Ha Noi. The theme was that of transparency.

The organising board received a total of 615 entries from 35 amateur and professional cartoonists throughout the country.

Painter Ly Truc Dung, head of the contest's jury, said the entries expressed authors' critical perspectives on urgent problems facing society including corruption, the increase in consumer goods prices and traffic police taking bribes.

Goethe Institute to organize contemporary dance fest in Vietnam’s capital

A festival featuring contemporary dance from Japan and several European countries will be organized in Vietnam later this month, the Goethe Institute says on its website.

“Europe Meets Asia in Contemporary Dance 2014” will take place for the fourth time at the Hanoi Youth Theater, 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street, Hai Ba Trung District, from September 24 to 28.

With a theme of “Creativity Has No Limits,” the fest is being held by EUNIC – a network of European cultural institutes and embassies in Hanoi – the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, and the Goethe Institute.

Over the event’s five evenings, audience members will experience different styles of contemporary dance from various countries, including Belgium, Germany, Sweden, France, Japan, Finland, and Vietnam. There will also be German-Vietnamese and Belgian-Vietnamese co-productions.

Organized for the first time in 2011 in the Vietnamese capital city, the annual festival has successfully helped spread awareness of contemporary dance and has been embraced with enthusiasm and applause from spectators.

A press conference with all participating artists will be held at 10:00 am on September 23 at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.

Free tickets are now available at the Goethe Institute; L’Espace at 24 Trang Tien Street; and the Japan Foundation at 27 Quang Trung Street, all in Hanoi. Biggest wedding fair to debut in Hanoi

With the wedding season fast approaching, prospective grooms and brides who are agonising over plans for their big day may learn much from the Marry Wedding Day annual fair.

After two previous successful seasons in Ho Chi Minh City, the fair, the biggest of its kind in Vietnam, will debut at Sofitel Plaza Hanoi on September 27 and 28.

Vietnam's largest wedding website, Marry.vn, will host the event that offers everything from bridal gowns to floral designs, venue decorations and photography.

The event will also feature shows presenting the latest fashion trends in weddings. Visitors to the event will have a chance to win prizes when they join in the games, lucky draws and the Happy Season photography contest.

Couples can enjoy exclusive deals on wedding packages and special discounts when they book wedding banquets at the fair.-

Young people make video featuring Vietnamese natural beauty

A group of young people from Dak Lak Province has made a video clip featuring what they see as the most beautiful spots of their home town.

The video, set to music, includes famous landscapes in Buon Me Thuot City, in particularly and the Dak Lak Province in general. Some of the sights shown are Dray Nur Waterfall, Ako Dhong Hamlet and Ban Don Eco-tourism site.

The clip is named “Vietnam fartherland: Buon Me Thuot”, and is meant to bring attention to the areas which best portray the natural and cultural beauty of the province. There is also a hint of patriotism in the presentation.

The clip can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9b7J-wS7zo

Exhibition highlighting early 20th century Hanoi opens in Paris

Around 60 photographs depicting the beauty of Hanoi in the early 20th century are on display at an exhibition, which opened in Paris, France on September 15.

Entitled ‘The Colours of Hanoi’, the exhibition consists of photos which are selected from an archive of more than 1,500 original photos by French photographer Leon Busy and taken from 1914-1917. The photos are curated by the Albert Kahn Museum, France.

Depicted are traditional handicrafts, activities in people’s daily lives, the relationship between human beings and the natural environment, worship and other religious rituals.

The exhibition, once organised in Hanoi and now in Paris, was considered a vivid manifestation of the fine co-operation between Ile-de-France and Hanoi, and contributed to enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples, said Michel Bock, a representative from Il de France.

The exhibition also offered a clear insight into Hanoi 100 years ago, especially its architecture, landscape, people and daily life of the city, Guillaume, a visitor to the exhibition said.

Finalists of Asia Pacific Prize 2014 released

The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation has recently announced the 15 finalists of the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize 2014.

The prize spotlights the most compelling contemporary artworks created by artists in the Asia Pacific region over the last three years.

 Selected by a panel of five eminent judges from around the region, the finalists’ works were chosen from 105 nominated artworks from 24 countries and territories. Innovative and exciting creations from recent years, the contemporary artworks represent the very best of the region and are intentionally not limited by genre.

Spanning various mediums from painting to sculpture, photography, video works and performance art, they each address topical issues and collectively shed light not just on our region’s contemporary art landscape but also on the topics and conversations relevant in our society today.

The 15 finalists represent 13 countries and territories including Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, India, Bangladesh and Taiwan.

Selecting this year’s Finalists is a judging panel comprising Mr. Chris Saines, Director of Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art; Mr. Feng Boyi, eminent independent art curator and critic of Chinese contemporary art; Ms. Luckana Kunavichayanont, Director of Bangkok Art and Culture Center; Ms. Pooja Sood, Director of KHOJ International Artists’ Association; and Dr. Susie Lingham, Director of Singapore Art Museum.

 A statement from the jury panel stated, “We’re excited to be presenting the finalists of the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize 2014. Narrowing the choice from over 100 works to the final 15 involved a rigorous selection process and intensive discussions – testament to the high caliber of entries that were refined, rich and diverse. Overall, the 15 works selected offer a glimpse of the future of our region’s rich and constantly evolving contemporary art scene. The finalist works stood out for their strength of concept and execution and despite stemming from such diverse contexts, histories and cultural backgrounds, cleverly explored similar issues of identity, immigration, urban expansion, depletion of natural resources, fading of old values, cultural diversity and more.”

The APB Foundation Signature Art Prize is worth US$100,000 with US$60,000 awarded to the Grand Prize winner and US$15,000 each for two Jurors’ Choice Award winners. A People’s Choice Award of US$10,000 will also be offered to the artwork that receives the highest number of public votes via on-site and online submissions (voting opens from 14 November 2014).

The APB Foundation Signature Art Prize Exhibition will take place at SAM from 14 November 2014 to 15 March 2015 with the winners announced at an awards ceremony on 22 January 2015. For more information, please visit the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize webpage at http://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/apbfSAP2014.html

Biggest wedding fair to debut in Hanoi

With the wedding season fast approaching, prospective grooms and brides who are agonising over plans for their big day may learn much from the MarryWedding Day annual fair.

After two previous successful seasons in Ho Chi Minh City, the fair, the biggest of its kind in Vietnam, will debut at Sofitel Plaza Hanoi on September 27 and 28.

Vietnam's largest wedding website, Marry.vn, will host the event that offers everything from bridal gowns to floral designs, venue decorations and photography.

The event will also feature shows presenting the latest fashion trends in weddings. Visitors to the event will have a chance to win prizes when they join in the games, lucky draws and the Happy Season photography contest.

Couples can enjoy exclusive deals on wedding packages and special discounts when they book wedding banquets at the fair.

VNS/SGT/Dantri/VOV